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You might be surprised to learn that breast cancer is on the rise in both men and women. Learn the facts about breast cancer, as well as the importance of early detection in saving lives.

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The Breast Cancer Exercise Plan: How Working Out Can Reduce Your Risk

The Breast Cancer Exercise Plan: How Working Out Can Reduce Your Risk

One of the biggest benefits to women for participating in a regular exercise program is that you can reduce your risk of breast cancer. As more and more females begin to grow concerned about the development of this serious condition, more people are looking into all the breast cancer prevention methods that are available. Regular exercise is one of the best.

Here are some important things to know about the breast cancer-exercise connection.

Vigorous Versus Moderate Exercise and Breast Cancer

When it comes to what works best, it looks like vigorous exercise reduces breast cancer risk to a much larger extent than those that are rated moderate or low intensity. This includes activities such as heavy household work like scrubbing floors, doing yard work, chopping wood, running or jogging, going for a hard bike ride, rollerblading, dancing vigorously, or planned physical activity at the gym.

Moderate exercise on the other hand consists of activities like desk work, light housework, cooking, walking, golf, watching TV, or washing clothes. While you will be moving around in some of these instances, it appears as though it's not strong enough for there to be a breast cancer reduction effect.

Breast Cancer and Weight Loss

Another important thing to note is that women who maintain a lower body weight are also at a much lower rate for developing breast cancer. The distinction in the reduced rate between those who were following an intense physical activity program and those who were not was more pronounced in individuals of a healthy weight, demonstrating that exercise can be even more beneficial if you are not carrying excess weight.

With this in mind, note that if you are overweight now, taking steps to lose that weight is the single most important thing that you can do. Breast cancer and obesity are highly connected, so taking care of this problem will really improve your overall development risk.

Exercise at the Right Time

Another interesting thing to note is that exercise appears to be best at reducing the risk of breast cancer in women who are of the premenopausal age. If this describes you, you want to place a high level of importance and urgency on getting together a program for yourself.

Remember that breast cancer exercise reduction techniques do not need to be extreme by any means. It can be as simple as three or four weekly workout sessions where you get your heart rate up. It is important that you do feel like you are working harder since there is that link between intensity levels.

Keep in mind that intensity will vary from person to person, so gauge what you feel is right for you. As long as you feel like you are working, you can rest assured that you are more than likely on the right track for being in your "target zone."

Make Your Exercise Weight Bearing

Finally, if you can, aim to make your exercises weight bearing. This will not only help to strengthen the bones, which will help ward off stress fractures and osteoporosis, but will also work the entire body to a larger extent. Since you will reduce your risk of breast cancer and reduce your risk of other conditions by working the muscles in your body, you need to focus on full body activities.

Full body activities include weight lifting, jogging, rollerblading, playing sports, like soccer, tennis, or soft ball, or practicing some of the intense forms of yoga that require a great deal of balance and coordination, while supporting your own body weight.

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